Monthly Archives: January 2009

Fantastic cover, probably the best of the bunch, and they have all been excellent. Love the fact that DJ Danny Duoshade recommends tracks from Butthole Surfers and Mission Of Burma – fly that mid eighties punk / freak flag!!

It still makes no sense – even Danny acknowledges that fact, basically requesting that if you don’t understand, don’t ask him. He doesn’t understand either. Or is he lying??? What do you get in this issue? You get something approaching a climax. Yes, somehow, the Young Liars manage a Butch and Sundance and come out all guns blazing against the sadistic Pinkerton killers. There is more about the Spiders, Sadie and lots of her relatives, Puss Bag in heroic mode (even though his accent seems to be a composite of all regions of the UK – I detect cockney, east midlands and west midlands) and Danny. Poor bewildered Danny. Yeah, right. Is he the biggest liar of them all? He certainly returns to centre stage, and grabs the ending from under the noses of those who would claim the Brown Bag empire as their own. It was terrific and fun and funny and the action was brilliant and I really enjoyed this issue. It is the first issue of Young Liars I have really enjoyed since those heady days of last summer….

No.12 promises to be a lot of fun. Or then again, maybe Lapham will pull the rug from under us and take us on another tangent, another time, another place. But I bet the cover will be fantastic.

There were many, many types of lolly in the 70’s and 80’s, the market fuelled by the regular patrols of Ice Cream Vans throughout the Spring, Summer and Autumn of my childhood. In order to get a piece of the action, the ice cream makers came up with all sorts of branding and commercial tie-ins to get the kids to hand over their parents pennies. As I write this, I remember an Action Man tie-in where our ‘Mr Whippy’ van used to give a few of these cigarette type cards with Action Man in various ‘action’ scenarios. Anyone remember? If you do, please get back to me! I digress. One popular type of branding was combining ice cream with Horror characters and Monsters. I have, in the past, mentioned the use of Count Dracula in selling ice cream (see here and here). Now, I present the majesty of KING KONG;

Big in the mid 1970s, and partly helped by the remake of the classic film, this fantastic lolly was – what else? – a milky banana treat, and one of my favourites. The following advert gives you some indication of the Walls roster of lollies around the time of King Kongs existence;

The lolly wrapper and advert come courtesy of the marvellous ‘doyouremember’ forums (see links below for the sources of these wonderful images). The advert itself is taken from TV Comic. Here are the links – it’s a great site, with lots of brilliant images and useful recollections….

TV Comic…..I have a very happy memory of being at Primary School in the 1970s and purchasing a pile of TV Comic at a School Jumble Sale. For 10p I acquired what felt like hundreds of issues. I cannot remember how I got them home, but I know they gave me hours and hours and pleasure. This comic did exactly as its title suggested – it was a comic full of comic strips based on TV shows. Like the Pink Panther. I remember the Pink Panther on the cover of some of the comics vividly. I also acquired a load of summer specials in that pile. I was in a state of comic ecstasy and began my life long love of comics, as I graduated, through the years onto Action, Bullet, Captain Britain, Mighty World of Marvel and 2000AD.

Let me start this review by saying that the third series of Marvel Zombies will not be the last. Anyone who reads comic books is hardly going to be surprised that Marvel are not going to kill off one of their cash cows (i assume that Marvel Zombies 3 has done comparable business to Kirkmans initial foray and its sequel). The fact that they have managed to build up a level of excitement (as far as I am concerned) for the next installment is a tribute to what Marvel are trying to do here.

So what do I think they are trying to do with Marvel Zombies? I think they are now using the success and recognition of the title as an opportunity to give a run out to some of the B and c list Superheroes in the Marvel Universe. In Marvel Zombies 3, it has done a great service to Jocasta and Machine Man as the central characters and heroes. Machine Man has been a revelation to me, as he has been showcased as an all-out action hero with elements of Schwazeneggers invincibilty and Willis’ humour, along with a formidable body-as-weapon arsenal. It worked for me.

Jocasta, also, flourished in a role where nothing but desperate actions on her part would secure Earths survival. Throughout this series in particular, without the novelty of seeing the big guns ‘zombiefied’ (Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine etc), those Zombies that have been present have taken less prominence. The tone of the title has changed. However, there are still a lot of characters that they can play around with who provide entertainment (Black Bolt, Lockjaw, Kingpin – Kingpin in particular has a great scene towards the end of issue 4).

Whereas the focus of 1 & 2 was on the perspective of the Zombies and their hunger driven devastation of worlds, Marvel Zombies 3 has been about how Heroes have tried to combat the threat. So the title ends with the exciting build up to part 4. With Machine Man and Jocasta exiting stage left, Morbius steps up to the centre stage full of purpose and revenge and bringing with him a tantalising supporting cast. This is where my point about showcasing the lesser known heroes is clearly illustrated; does anyone want a new title starring the ‘Midnight Sons‘?? Probably not.Will people read Marvel Zombies 4, starring the ‘Midnight Sons’? Probably. It is another High Concept; ‘Monsters vs. Zombies’. This one, has a good feel to it.

As a standalone issue, the fourth and final issue had maintained the fun, fury, action and gore of the previous three issues. As a series, Marvel Zombies 3 managed something that I thought would not have been possible when I heard of its inception – it managed to be as good as the Kirkman titles previously in the series. Great writing from Fred Van Lente and Kev Walker got the art spot on with a visceral, humourous style. Let’s hope that ‘4’ is an equal to those that have gone before it.

The scuzziest, grungiest slice of fuzzy psychedelic hip hop, that also manages to be one of the sharpest hip hop singles ever. A collaboration between left field freak Justin Warfield (who had already produced the classic ‘Fishermans Grotto’, and Bomb The Bass virtuoso Tim Simenon (who gave the worls, among other treats, ‘Beat Dis‘), it is a timeless piece of pure hip hop electro beauty. Everything that is good about music can be found in hip hop and everything that can be good about hip hop is saturated into this track. Plus it uses Burroughs and his ‘Naked Lunch’ as source material. Although it is now 15 years old, time has not dulled its lustre and age has not wearied it.

The Punisher, as a character and in his numerous titles, I can generally take or leave…. though to be fair Ennis’ ‘Punisher Max’ has a fair amount of superlative issues and storylines – but what else can you expect from Ennis? The man is one of the greatest comic writers out there – and although I cannot always get my head around what he is doing (like ‘Crossed’) there is no doubting he is a master of this art form.

But we are not here to talk about Ennis. I want to talk about Rick Remender, the virtuoso behind the completely tasteless horror porn ‘XXXombies’ for Image in 2007. Although that title seemed little more than alternative high concept (‘zombies meet pornstars’ in the 70’s!!!’) it was not without merit, and certainly, for me, marked out Remender as a talent to watch out for. So here is, with a big Marvel title.

How does he fare??

Well, he makes this issue, a kick off for Frank Castles experiences during ‘Dark Reign’, into a barnstormer with a superbly minimal plot. Castle is planning an assassination attempt on Norman Osborn. The only problem is, Sentry is standing between Castle and his intended victim. The cat and mouse that ensues is strafed with funny, sharp and smart dialogue – like Castle, in one piece of dialogue, referencing Sun Tzu and explaining Christianity as an excuse for hippies (you have to read it). The action is superb – visceral, frenetic and very enjoyable. Overall it is fast, funny, brutal. It is a great issue. I have high hopes for this series. Go Frank!!! Go Rick!!!!

Finally, I cannot end this post without applauding the cheeky use of the Spider man covers that heralded The Punisher’s entry into the Marvel Universe. Very nice….

The longer you stick with this tremendous series, the more you expect the worst. You expect the worst to happen to the cast of characters. You expect the worst of human nature to manifest itself in many forms. Death is ever-present, but in this issue we see something that is possibly the most distressing and awful scenario I have seen in a comic. This is issue is dominated by the sudden and shocking brutality that human can do to human and it isn’t easy to experience this.

I read the book with almost an unwillingness to turn the page. I don’t want Carl to die. I don’t want Rick to lose his son. I want them all to reach safety somehow. I want the other children to get through, and I don’t want to lose Michonne, Maggie, Glenn, Andrea or Abraham (who is becoming a fascinating juxtaposition of machismo and emotion). This issue throws a few more tantalising clues about Abraham Fords past. It promises to reveal more in future issues. There is a real prospect that we may see some characters we have not seen for a long time (and let us hope they are safe and well). All the while, the possibilities that lie ahead in Washington are just out of reach, making ‘Doctor’ Eugene the biggest enigma of all. He is still there, in the background, but a powerful influence on the course this group, and this story, is going.

What I am trying to say, again, but in a different way to before, is that I love this book, it is the best comic book of this year already, and it just matures and gets better. I don’t want to think about what is coming up with issue #58 (aka ‘The Unthinkable’). I will read it, with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, my heart fluttering. I will be back to be enthralled by this most magnificent of comic books.

I am a firm believer that David Peace wrote 4 of the most stunning British fiction of the last 50 years with his Red Riding Quartet. A few months ago it was revealed that they were being adapted for television for Channel 4. This looks like it could live up to the high standard of the books;

They look like they have got the period detail nailed, and the casting looks superb – how can you go wrong with the likes of Paddy Considine and Warren Clarke? The short answer is – you can’t. This is going to be special.